<div>Dear friends &amp; family,
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<div>Thank you for your interest in following my journey to heal.
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<div>On 4/29/24, I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (breast cancer) on my left breast. Technically, I knew I had cancer 5 days prior because the hospital app sent me the breast biopsy test results first before any doctors had the time to review them. This might be a great example of how technology does more harm than good…
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<div>Since then, I have been busy feeling sad, optimistic, scared, grateful, and sometimes all of them at once.
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<div>I have no symptoms except for the lump I found 2 months ago, which is the reason I arrived at this diagnosis. So sometimes, I forget that there is something I need to cure. This might be a blessing so I can live a normal life!
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<div>My life has changed A LOT since I gave birth to Nami only 6 months ago. I was "just" getting the hang of breastfeeding and being a stay-at-home mom. It's been so much fun watching Nami grow!
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<div>So, this diagnosis felt so sudden and unfair.
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<div>Now, I have to suddenly start the weaning process to stop breastfeeding since chemo will make the milk unsafe to drink for Nami. It makes me sad thinking about the last time I would get to breastfeed Nami.
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<div>Now, I have to accept that it is very unlikely that I will be able to get pregnant again if I want to prioritize my health. There are many factors like my age (39), the cancer is estrogen-positive, I'm BRCA1 positive, and I decided not to pursue freezing my eggs (it will delay my treatment &amp; too high of a cost) before chemo.
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<div>That said, I am grateful for so many things - and these are what keeps me going with positivity:
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<div>I have a lovely family - Justin and Nami
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<div>My hospital &amp; the care team is amazing, and it’s 2 min from my home
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<div>I have many local friends and family who have offered to help
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<div>My insurance is a great one, thanks to Justin!
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<div>I have a lot of freedom since I wasn’t working
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<div>It would be a lie if I told you I’m not scared at all, but I’m trusting my doctors who told me I can cure this. I HAVE to - for Nami and Justin! For my family and friends!
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<div>I can’t change the diagnosis, but I CAN control how I react to it.
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<div>This fund will help cover out-of-pocket medical costs that insurance doesn't cover, various items to make my recovery comfortable, meals when I can't cook, and more.
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<div>I’m so grateful for your support from near &amp; far!!
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<div>Chihiro
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Joshua Perry

Jessica Taskov

Joshua Vonderheide

Anonymous

James Shields

Paul Rudolph

Lila Pollack

Andrew Fyles

JUNE HAHN

Hiroyuki Matsuura

Clara Lyon

Robert Rams

Barbara Merjan

Luei Lin Ong

Shayna Dunkelman

Terry Jolly

Stephen Pier

Chihiro's Journey to Recovery

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